Figure 1.--Sport was very organised and I loved it, particulary skiing. This is something I never would have had the chance to do back home. This is the school junior varsity (JV) ski team. I am centre front row.

After graduating from the Junior High public school in the town with my host parents, they enrolled me in Vermont Academy. This was a private boarding school in Saxton's River. Americans called it a prep school. In Britain it would be called a public (private secondary-level boarding) school. Prep school in Britain means a primary-level private school. Here I blossomed. We were taught by men. Again we had wonderful teachers. Especially memorable were the English Master, Maths master and the biology teacher. The biologybteacher in particular inspired me to do medicine. I had my own research project with fruit flies confirming Mendelian genetics. Sport was very organised and I loved it, particulary skiing. Size didn't matter so even though I was only five foot nothing, I had a chance for success. In fact I had an advantage. A low centre of gravity is no bad thing in skiing. I also had endurance. I loved cross country skiing and was tolerably good at the half mile on the track. This is something I never would have had the chance to do back home. There was an amusing event what I was at the school. I was 14 in 1944, and all aliens had to be fingerprinted on or soon after their 14th birthday. I was in my English Class when the headmaster's Secretary, came in and whispered something to the teacher. He broke into a broad grin and said, "Alan, the FBI are with the Headmaster. They want to see you." You can imagine the uproar.